31 August 2017: Mount Pemigewasset (Indian Head)

This was a real treat of a day. I bagged a quick peak with good sights, and got to venture out with a friend from work and her dog, who is an unstoppable bundle of energy. I will dub my friend "Zoey", for references henceforth.

History: The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki (language used by tribes of the Algonquin nation of the northeast US) word for "where side (entering) current is". This peak is also known as Indian Head Mountain, which I imagine is less favored in current times.


Peak Elevation: 2557 ft.
Elevation Gain: ~ 1300 ft
Trail: Mt. Pemigewasset Trail
Length: 3.3 mi
Time on Trail : 0830
Time off Trail: 1230

The hike starts at the Flume Gorge Visitors Center, taking the paved bike path for a few hundred feet before taking a hard left to begin walking under a few underpasses below the roadways. Somewhat marshy, I imagine this section can be bad during the bug season. Once past the roadways, it ascends at a moderate grade on a not-perfectly-marked trail to the peak. Going up we stopped once or twice to get our bearings as it was not perfectly evident where the actual trail was. But once we hit the top it opened up pretty nicely to a good sized ledge with a gnarly drop-off.

While not a blue-sky day it was a good day to be out, as it wasn't raining but rather overcast while we were up there. I imagine if we hung out there a while the sun would have burned off much of the cloud cover. The descent was fun because LOGAN kept stopped to sniff/eat/roll in everything. Zoey let his leash go a few times to let him do his thing well off trail, which resulted in me getting entertainment for the day as he refused to listen. As a Catahoula Lepoard, he was in his element on this mountainside. We got back in the car by noonish, after fighting with LOGAN who didn't want to go home yet.



Not many photos today - I was spending most of my time trying to keep the pace with Zoey and LOGAN.

Photos:

Mt Pemigewasset 31AUG17

Another slightly backdated entry....

25 August 2017: Carter Dome, Mount Hight

This was my first trip out with Bob The Lovegoat this season. we had tried a few times to plan this hike but the weather or my headaches kept interfering. Mr Lovegoat had not yet done Hight, if i recall correctly, as he skipped it on his trek to do the NH48 List since it is not an official 4000 foot peak per the AMC standard. You can see Lovegoat's trip report here

History: Carter dome is the pinnacle of the Carter-Moriah Range. The range is name for a homesteading family in the early settling years of the area. Mt. Hight is a sub-peak of Carter Dome, touted to offer the best views on this range. One source i found attributes the name of this peak to a man named James Hight from Jefferson NH. Another tells a more folky story of a pair of hunters - named Hight and Carter - who get separated and ascend two different peaks to find one another. These peaks were named after each man. The peak Hight is said to have ascended was renamed by Guyot to what we now know as Wildcat (A), but to preserve the name the northern subpeak of Carter Dome was named in Hight's honor.


Peak Elevation: 4832 ft (Carter Dome); 4675 ft (Mt. Hight)
Elevation Gain: 3400 ft
Trail: 19 Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Zeta Pass, Carter-Moriah Trail.
Length: 11.9 mi.
Time on Trail : 0930
Time off Trail: 1630

I showed up around the same time as Lovegoat, and we go since he had some childcare time conflict he needed to avoid at the end of the day. Boomer was with us. The Nineteen Mile brook was pleasant but eventually mundane trail to ascend and descend. The weather was supposed to be OK but was overcast with some rain drops during the day. Finicky weather patterns off the Presi's sometimes. Once we got to the Carter Dome Trail, we found some rougher terrain as we worked towards Zeta Pass to head to Mt. Hight first. The views from Hight are phenomenal:

via GIPHY

After this we saw some of the looming clouds in the higher peaks nearby, and moved on to Carter Dome in case there was some stronger winds inbound. making quick work of the col between the two peaks we found Carter Dome populated with a few groups when we arrived. Ok, when I arrive,d because Boomer and Lovegoat are faster than I am on inclines. I found him trying to entice Boomer into taking some photos.After a snack and some time chatting with some people, I snapped a quick set of pictures up there to commemorate the peaks bagged, and we began descending towards Carter Notch Hut. We saw Carter Lake and a handful of fast-moving AT kids after their descent from Wildcat. Making no time for stops we trucked on to finsihe the day returning to the Nineteen Mile Brook TH.


Photos:

Carter Dome, Mt Hight 25AUG17

Slightly backdated entry from later in 2017